There are several advantages and disadvantages of using the 23andme for genetic and DNA testing. Also it has to be noted, that there are quite a few 23andme alternatives that also offer good services. But in this article we will focus on what 23andme does.
Database
The first advantage is that it has the second largest database of about 2 million people and growing. This means that you are going to be able to get an accurate ethnicity estimate from this particular company. They are also going to a do a autosomal test at no additional charge to the person. Therefore, you are not going to need to get an additional subscription in order to access all of the DNA matching or the reports. This test is a combination of the more basic mitochondrial and Y-chromosome haplogroup information.
Browser
The second advantage is that it uses the chromosome browser like some of the other DNA testing companies. Therefore, you are going to be able to find two people in the same place that are going to match you. The browser lets you to compare them directly in order to see if they are going to match each other. By using all of this information, you will be able to categorize all of your relatives based on their DNA into the branches of family that they are actually going to be related to.
Different reports
The third advantage is you are going to be able to get two additional reports for their service. These reports are the medical and trait reports. Even though this reports are going to be useful when it comes to your genealogy, it can be fun at look at to see where you might have gotten some of your traits. Plus the medical reports can be useful to see if you might be risk for having something in particular and for your future family planning. This means that you will know if you might have family who has had medical issues that could affect you.
Medical
The first disadvantage is that it is not known for being a company that is centered around genealogy. This means that it is going to focus more on the medical portion of your family history and the family branches. This means that if you are not as interested in the family history but you are more interested in the medical reports, then this is the company that you are going to want to use.
Sharing system
The second disadvantage is that since they focus so much on the medical aspect of the family history, they use a sharing system in order to view the DNA segments. Therefore, you will have to request the matches individually in order to see if any of the matches in your genomes are going to match each other. But sometimes the users are going to use the open sharing so there will not be a need for the individual requests. The company uses a feature called relatives in common but it is only going to work with the matches that use the open sharing feature.
Price
The third disadvantage is the price. You are going to have to pay about two hundred dollars to use this program. This price is a lot higher than some of the other programs.
